Collapse of Frailty
by P. Ryusaki
Summary: Ash couldn't keep them in the dark forever, even if it was just one more year until his destiny took hold of his life. He was supposed to abandon them a long time ago, but decided to be selfish and ignore the consequences. Ash x ? -Harem-


**Disclaimer: **I do not own Pokemon.

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**Rated: **M for adult situations, violence, and more.

**Summary: **Secrets are kept untold for various reasons. Dawn, who has grown obviously infatuated with Ash over their four years of traveling together, notices that he is keeping many facts about himself hidden from her despite their deepening relationship. Sabrina, who is equally attracted to the recently enigmatic boy, is curious as well. They all wanted to know who their leader truly was, and what it was that he didn't want them finding out. Ash Ketchum thought everything could be avoided as long as he remained in character, but it seemed that he let too much of his true self show through in their adventures together.

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**Chapter 1: Paradigm Shift**

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Rustboro City: Devon Corporation – 9PM

"Cloyster, use Aurora Beam to freeze him to the ground!" shouted an enraged, bifocal-wearing woman.

The colorful blast of ice energy closed in on its target only to dissipate upon contact from an unseen force.

"Shit...he's using that barrier again. Dewgong, divert your attack from that Mewtwo and aid Cloyster with his assault!" She was focusing on the supposed weaker of the two opponents, a logical approach with apparent difficulty.

The Dewgong dodged to the side as a purple ball of energy collided with the now destroyed floor tile. "Dew!" It rolled on the ground towards Cloyster's side so they could combine attacks.

Lorelei watched her two Pokemon fire long streams of ice shots with little to no effect on the glowing barrier. "This doesn't make any sense. Humans aren't meant to have that kind of power...Where did he get it and how do I counter it?" The crimson-haired woman was known to be one of the best strategists out there, be it Pokemon or warfare, yet her success wouldn't be met with no known information. She almost forgot about the second interference in her operation due to how troublesome the first one was.

"Questions are best left for after a confrontation. Your perception is strong and sight weak. In strategy it is important to see distant things as if they were close." Mewtwo appeared before her with one of his arms outstretched, its hand pulsating the characteristic purple energy seen by most psychic types.

Her hand was stuck on the third Pokeball attached to the side of her belt. She closed her eyes out of humiliation and disgust. "So it seems. I guess emotions are truly a hindrance when it comes to battling."

The mutated, cat-like creature gave an odd half smile in response.

Two grotesque cries of help rang out in the destroyed hallway leading to the "Pokemon Transformer Room" of the building. A mist enveloped the hallway, a result of the clashing barrier and ice attacks.

Lorelei glared at the legendary Pokemon with an intensity that seemed to throw ice daggers in its direction. "Why do you stop us? Don't you know what we're doing?! It's for the good of all Pokemon!"

Mewtwo couldn't help but cackle in its deep, maniacal voice. "How very interesting. Flawed concepts are but one of my favorite materials for scrutinization. You wish to achieve restoration through revolution? How contradictory."

"You bastard...If I escape this, I swear I'll root out your race of mutated felines from this existence. The Pokemon species won't weep for such a loss." She was able to spit at his feet even though the mind-altering power restricted her from any form of movement.

"I'm the only one of that godly race. But you don't look like the type of human that would be able to destroy me anyway." Mewtwo's head was held high, eyes looking down at the struggling redhead.

Before she could make any kind of retort both Cloyster and Dewgong's bodies flew past her. The sound of skidding shell and flesh was audible.

"Sorry about that Genesis. I'm still weak from our last fight." A figure walked out of the evaporating mist, limping towards the stoic Mewtwo.

Lorelei took in the sight of her enemy that she couldn't see before. His right arm and left foot were encased in ice, signifying that her Pokemon were at least able to get in some damage. But his clothes...Brown hair covered by a red hat, black t-shirt underneath a red vest, sort of baggy pants ending at red shoes...

Mewtwo turned his head to look at the condition of his partner. "No need to apologize, I'm in the same condition as well. If we were in top form this battle would have been easily won."

The ice master continued observing the boy in front of her. He seemed so familiar, especially his favoritism of the color red...Then it clicked, the chaotic duel four years ago.

"Red?"

The newcomer who was having difficulty standing straightened up instantly. "How do you know who I am? This is the first time we've met."

Lorelei closed her eyes and opened them slowly to re-observe. Something wasn't right. The Red she knew died two years ago, made a statue and then shattered by Team Rocket. And this teenager standing there, she was sure now that he wasn't the same boy. There had to be something the two entities didn't share in common. That was when she caught the site of his irises underneath the hat that obscured the topmost view of his face.

"No, you're not him...Red had dark blue eyes, not chocolate brown."

The imposter flinched back before reassigning his limp position due to injuries. "Genesis, please knock her out and erase her memory. I'll go return her Pokemon to their pokeballs."

Mewtwo shook his head in annoyance. "I thought you said you knew everything about that guy. How could you miss such a simple thing as eye color?"

"I only have childhood memories to go off of, give me a break!" The impostor "Red" grabbed two of Lorelei's pokeballs attached to her waist belt. "Be thorough this time. I've noticed that Dawn has been suspicious of me even though we erased her memory before."

The legendary Pokemon faintly nodded as he brought his head in front of the stone still redhead. Her eyes were shaking from unrepressed fear.

"You should have planned for security before even thinking about infiltrating this facility. You're the perfect example of foolishness on the battlefield. A title is nothing more than a biased reputation given by the public. It becomes status only when the receiver is of deserved strength." Mewtwo's eyes began glowing an eerie yellow.

"Don't worry. I'll only erase what has happened here and whatever thoughts you had of coming. It's only fair you follow the same path with unsavory results. Now, feel the pow-" He was interrupted from a piece of ceiling material falling in his exact spot, he promptly teleported to safety.

Lorelei back flipped a considerable amount away as a huge portion of the roof fell. She sighed in relief from being released of the hypnotic paralyzation.

"Genesis! Are you all right?!" The fake "Red" ran towards her direction with two pokeballs in hand.

"Watch it! She's out of my control now!" Mewtwo sent the telepathic message to his partner.

"Red" skidded to a stop just in time to evade a roundhouse kick from the enraged redhead who also snatched the two pokeballs he was holding in the process. However, he didn't have time to counterattack as two figures came crashing down on the fallen debris, effectively distracting him.

"Lorelei, we've got to get out of here! I can't shake off this fucking annoying frog, it destroyed my dragons with freaking ice punches!" shouted a young man with a long flowing, black cape.

"Poli-WRATH!"

Said creature fell through the hole in the ceiling and planted its right fist into the weak Salamance next to it's panicked trainer.

"Lance, do you still have Dragonite on you?!" Lorelei frantically asked as the fake "Red" and Mewtwo advanced from both sides.

Lance ran to her after he returned his defeated ally to it's pokeball. "Yeah, but it barely has enough energy to fight!"

"It doesn't matter. As long as it can fly us out we're fine."

"Alright, here it goes..." The caped man threw a capsule on the ground that bellowed smoke into all directions. The sound of a Pokemon being released was heard. "Dragonite, use Fly!"

"Genesis, use your telekinesis to slow them down! Castor, use ice beam to freeze that Dragonite's wings!" commanded "Red" as he coughed from the inhalation of gas.

Mewtwo wouldn't risk filling his lungs with the unknown element so he used telepathy instead. "No use, we're both out of strength..."

The "Red" poser and his two Pokemon allies watched with agitation as their enemies flew away.

-

Path to Verdanturf: Route 117 – 11:28 PM

"Dammit...I couldn't do anything. I wanted to use the Aura Sphere attack but..."

"Calm down. We did all we could, there's no use wallowing in self-pity. Besides, that attack you did on Lorelei's Pokemon was pretty impressive, Ash. What did you do?" Mewtwo floated besides the limping teenager.

The spiky-haired boy removed his hat to wipe some sweat away, his dark brown hair now a sleek black shade. "I was toying around with a technique similar to Hidden Power. It backfired though, in the way that it left me vulnerable for a split second to their ice attacks." He shook his right arm and noted that he still couldn't feel it.

"A man in battle but a child at heart. You always were one to be lucky in those types of circumstances. I don't know if I should congratulate or reprimand you on your last minute thinking."

Ash smirked through his pain and replied, "I'll let you think about it till we get to the entrance of the town."

After their struggle with two of the Elite Four they had to escape the premises immediately to escape eye witnesses or possible public news reporters, a needed precaution for Ash's character and overall well being. A bug tracked to its hive was no good to the colony and it's plans after all.

"Man...Sucks that your Teleport only travels a limited distance. I would have used Fly to get us back to the inn, but I had no other Pokemon available. Poliwrath was the only one left with a substantial amount of rest." Ash's self-beration continued.

"That's quite alright. I understand that it's getting harder for you to live a double life. I believe it was just last morning that you took on a number of formidable opponents in a double battle contest." Mewtwo nodded knowingly with closed eyes.

"Yeah, Dawn did really well until the second to last battle. I'm glad Sabrina was there to back me up."

"That woman...She's been troublesome as of late. It's almost like she can sense me a mile away." Mewtwo's eye twitched as he remembered how he couldn't use hypnotic suggestion to turn her away so he could speak to Ash about their upcoming operation.

"I think she's catching on to my act. But don't worry, I'll get her suspicion to disappear faster than you can finish your monologue." said the spiky-haired youth with added humor.

Mewtwo sighed depressively, "So you listened to what I was saying to that pitiful woman?"

"Of course, it's hard to not hear you with that loud rumbling voice you have. Wait..." Ash took up a thinking pose which made him look odd in his walking state.

The floating Pokemon frowned in disdain, "Hey, don't pick on me again. I'm getting better at cutting myself off, you know."

Ash lightly laughed before addressing Mewtwo again. "It's not that. I was just thinking about how cool it would be to hear your voice in a session of Japanese karaoke."

Mewtwo was taken aback but quickly resumed position. "I-I wouldn't be caught dead committing myself to such a horrible display of vocal inadequacy!"

"You're probably right. I've always pictured you more of the massaging type of fanatic because your fingers look like the smooth ends of those portable massage machines."

The psychic Pokemon stopped moving and stared at it's hands with careful consideration. Ash stopped as well to see what his friend was doing.

"Guah!" A small pebble smacked the back of the spiky-haired boy's head with a bit of strength.

"Stop making me think weird things you idiot." Mewtwo advanced in front of the scowling teenager, towards the Verdanturf entrance.

-

Verdanturf Town: Shidake Inn / Room 15 – 9 AM

The suns rays bathed the small room with generous amounts of yellow and orange. It was her favorite part of the day. Morning.

White clouds of steam fell out of the bathroom as a young cerulean-haired girl walked out with a bath towel wrapped around her slender and still developing body. Her hair reached the middle of her back with her long side bangs cascading and ending at her chest area, which was also quite unique considering how sizeable it was for someone her age.

"Hope begins in the dark, the stubborn hope that if you just show up and try to do the right thing, the dawn will come. You wait and watch and work: You don't give up." Dawn said in a sing-song voice as she walked towards her suitcase of clothes. That saying, or perhaps quote was more fitting, was something special to her. Her mother would always recite it to her when she was feeling down or had failed accomplishing even the most trivial of tasks. But today she was using it as a mark towards one of her main goals.

"Well aren't you in high spirits, Dee Dee?" A raven-haired woman sat naked at the edge of the bed across from her. It wasn't something abnormal, not after having to travel with the Psychic Mistress for three years. Still, the display didn't stop her from being jealous of the voluptuous female.

"Of course! Today's probably one of the most important days of the year!" Dawn exclaimed without holding back her excitement and ignoring the use of her most hated nickname.

"Hm? Your birthday?" Sabrina stared at the face of the exuberant fourteen-year old girl with little interest.

"Nope. It's..." She started poking her index fingers together while trying to hide her tomato-red face.

This peaked the woman's interest. Nothing ever made the overly confident girl that red in the face, at least not to her knowledge so far. "Are you going to tell me? Or do I have to probe your mind again, like with our last conversation?" Sabrina allowed herself to put on a victorious smile after she saw Dawn twitch.

"There never was a way to keep my thoughts away from you." Dawn sighed with obvious annoyance before turning red in the face again. "You see...this marks the day that me and Ash first met..." She quickly opened her suitcase and busied herself with finding her traveling outfit.

It wasn't exactly a secret that there was a silent rivalry going on between the two for Ash's attention. Brock was the one to always point it out during their journey. But somehow, Dawn had been oblivious to Sabrina's own advances on him ever since she joined the group, which the Psychic Mistress used to her own advantage of course.

The raven-haired woman watched intently as the young girl pulled out the usual attire she wore, a characteristic pink and black outfit similar to the one worn in the past when they had first met. The only difference was that the skirt was a little longer, but not so much that it stopped the male population from staring at her slender legs.

"...So?"

Dawn did a twirl and let her towel fall off so she could begin putting on the various pieces of clothing. "I'm going to make today memorable. You probably haven't noticed it, but I really like Ash..." she finished the sentence off with a dreamy look on her face.

Sabrina rolled her eyes at the last spoken sentence. How could anyone not notice Dawn's constant flirtations and 'accidental' situations that were orchestrated with Ash being the victim of it all. Still, she had to play along as usual.

"I had no idea...How long has this crush been going on?"

The cerulean-haired girl stiffened, as if angered by what was just asked. "It's not a crush!" she shouted vehemently at Sabrina. Silence prevailed for only a couple of seconds. "I'm sorry, it's just...Ever since he started guiding me, I've always had a feeling he was the one meant for me. My life before I started as a Pokemon Trainer was sad, so depressing that I even thought of committing suicide a couple of times..." She started combing her long blue hair with a pink brush.

To say that the raven-haired woman was shocked would be an understatement. For their three years of traveling together, Dawn had never said anything about her life before becoming a Trainer. In fact, it seemed she avoided it at all costs. Sure, Dawn may be a rival for Ash's affection but that didn't mean Sabrina wasn't a concerned friend as well.

"Why would you even think of such things?" asked the bewildered female psychic.

"When I had just turned five my Father left me and my Mother saying that he was done 'helping out'. We were obligations to him, nothing more. Needless to say, Mom became depressed and I remained mostly 'unaffected' due to how immature my thinking was at that time." Dawn put down the plastic brush and laid down on her bed. "The next four years flew by with her largely ignoring me. But when I found out about her exploits in the Pokemon world I became motivated to become a Coordinator, just like her. I wanted to remind her that I was still there to support and love her, and that I would get revenge on Dad once I had enough influence in Society. I'd find him and drag him back to apologize to us for all the years of misery he developed from his absence."

Sabrina stared at Dawn with newfound respect, but quickly changed it to one of disapprovement. "You chose the patch of vindication. Don't you know that only leads to more sadness and emotional destruction?"

Bright blue eyes met dull red.

Dawn looked back up at the ceiling emotionlessly as she continued, "I never acknowledged the results of my goal. I focused only on one aspect of it." Her stoic expression turned into one of subtle joy. "That's when I met him. The day I became a Pokemon Trainer turned out to be the start of the most life-changing adventure in my life. One that is still ongoing and where I hope Ash stays with me till the end."

Dawn was serious...And here she was, thinking that the fourteen-year old girl before her was just acting on pure physical attraction towards the closest male, who just happened to be quite handsome and smart. Sabrina knew from the rapid change of attitude that whatever tribulations Dawn and Ash had gone through together had truly made the young girl fall for him. She would have to find out what those events were...

"Everyday I'd see a side of him that made me jealous, angry that I couldn't be as talented or optimistic as him. But after learning so much about him, I can sort of see why he acts that way, despite what he truly feels. But lately, he hasn't been himself..." Dawn immediately jumped up in surprise. "Oh no! I forgot I have to get our lunches ready for later!"

Sabrina watched as the cerulean-haired youth hastily slipped on her black knee-high stockings and pink boots. She then stopped in the middle of putting on the left one to say something.

"I-I'm going to make sure that he knows how I feel today. I'm going to get him to accept me, no matter what. Just...wish me luck, okay Sa-chan?" Dawn had adopted that nickname for Sabrina whenever she felt especially appreciative of the stoic psychic, which was pretty rare.

"Sure. But remember, even though he is Ash he has still been under Brock's influence. You never know, he might even attack you with his hands in unimaginable ways!" Sabrina added jokingly to tease her.

"I'm counting on that..." The blushing young girl said barely above a whisper before snatching her purse and running out the door.

It was back, and it felt worse than the last time. That wrenching, twisting feeling that occurred whenever she felt conflicted with her feelings towards Ash. Her inner-child, repressed for many long years and then released just six years previously, wanted something dearly...Wanted the attention, acknowledgement, and passion...the warmth of the person that released her from the self-created dark abyss within her mind.

"I won't lose possession of what is mine. I'll make sure that he stays with me. Forever..." Sabrina's shaded red eyes changed to a pupiless amber.

-

Verdanturf Town: Shidake Inn / Room 12 – 9:48 AM

His life was full of lies. He always thought he was just a normal boy with a couple of hidden talents. He should have known that something had been kept from him when he first used the phenomenal power of Aura. A power that sacrificed one's own life energy to emit strong wave manipulations in a physical manifestation to either harm or aid whoever it was directed towards.

"Numb..." Ash looked at his right arm and made a vain attempt to move it. His left foot was fine; Aura healed that, but for some reason it didn't work on his right appendage.

Giving up, he put his blue vest on with one arm. His build was best described as athletic, not totally muscular but not flabby or poor. Ash's skin had always been tan, even underneath his clothing. His attire was similar to the original 'Red' but varied in many ways. The hat he originally had two years ago was reverted to his old Pokemon League hat that he wore in the beginning of his journey as a Pokemon Trainer. Instead of wristbands he took to wearing a pair of pure black gloves with red gems in the middle on the front of them. It was a design that he thought up after his episode with a Lucario who was a pupil of Sir Aaron long ago. Luckily, Sabrina was great at making clothes, so customizing his own was pretty easy with her help.

Ash was shaken out of his stupor when he heard a knock on his door. He ran over to stuff his 'Red' clothes away in it's respectable compartment in his backpack.

"Ash, it's me, Sabrina. May I converse with you for a bit? Please?" The spiky-haired youth raised an eyebrow at how pleading the tone sounded.

"Sure, come on in. The door is unlocked." He made sure that he looked like he was just staring at nothing while lying down on the bed. Though his plan was ruined when the raven-haired beauty walked in. Her appearance basically made him want to pounce her, but he knew better than to think with hormones instead of rational thought. For this woman wasn't just any other female to him, she was his best friend and travel companion. An irreplaceable person in his life, one who he would fight to the death for.

Her usual outfit that covered all of her skin was replaced by a black tube top and a knee-length, red summer dress skirt. He had only seen that amount of skin on her during their visit to the beach, which was eventful because she made it a point to make every staring male cry under her psychic pressure.

"I've been...concerned lately. The others may have not noticed it, but you've been leaving us behind often during the night. Is there something we should know?" Sabrina's red eyes pierced through his deep brown.

Ash was ready for this, mostly because his outings at night had increased due to the activity of two criminal organizations. He lightly laughed before replying, "I've just been training, that's all. I don't want to bother you guys at night, so I go into whatever clearing outside of town I can find."

The psychic mistress narrowed her eyes. "What kind of training makes it so that your life energy is close to death?"

The spiky-haired boy flinched. Was she lying to him now? Yeah, he did use a lot of energy during last night's battle, but it didn't feel like he was that low. His poker face was put back in place almost instantly.

"I was practicing the application of Aura with my fighting style." Because of their adventures together, and the circumstances during their particularly large confrontations, his teammates knew that he was able to use Aura quite sufficiently. The only thing they didn't know of was his relationship with Mewtwo and his lineage connection with the Aura Guardians. "I need to get stronger, so I can protect us from Team Rocket's constant attacks."

Sabrina's stoic face changed into one of worry and concern. "Ash, how long have we known eachother?"

"Six years, even though two of them were spent apart." he replied with a smile.

"You idiot...haven't you ever thought what would happen if you got hurt, or worse, died? What people you'd be leaving behind?" She started walking towards his bed.

"Heh, of course." He couldn't die yet, he still had to complete the Aura Guardian Prophecy that Mewtwo relayed to him several years ago.

"Then stop risking your life all the time. It hurts me to see you suffer like this." Sabrina was now sitting sideways next to Ash's prone form.

"If I don't become stronger they'll ruin this world. Everyone will fall to their forces, there'll be no haven for anyone, not even Pokemon..." His visage fell, shattered by her misunderstanding of the matter.

Sabrina laid down next to Ash, to his surprise. She turned her body so that she could hug him to her slim figure. "Whatever you're keeping from us, at least let me help. You shouldn't have to bare this burden alone. Please..."

His concentration was wavering. The young woman who was currently hugging him and playing with his unruly hair had him trapped. "I can't. I would get too distracted worrying about how you were doing or if there was anyone targeting you." Ash cursed at himself for saying too much.

"I like this side of you better. The serious one, I believe it's your true self. Yet you only show our group the childish side...Why is that?" Sabrina smirked as she noticed that her 'doll' was losing control of himself.

"I'm scared. I've been living a lie for so long that I feel like no one would like the real me. I'll be left behind again..." Ash finally gave up staring at the ceiling and turned himself to Sabrina while in her embrace.

"That won't happen, I'll always be by your side. As you will be by mine, correct?" Her angelic smile didn't leave her face.

"Yes, but that doesn't mean I'll let you come with me during my nightly routines. I've told you why already." His serious tone was matched by his stern facial expression. Sabrina only blushed in response.

"Then...let's make a seal of agreement. Let me mark you as mine so you'll always be with me. Unless you're lying, Ash Ketchum?"

"N-no! What is it that you wanted to do? Shake hands or pinkie swear?" His eyes were wide with confusion, which Sabrina found cute.

"There goes that infantile thinking again. What I want to do...is more interactive. But let's change something a little. If you are able to mark me before I mark you, I'll be yours instead." Sabrina replied as she undid her embrace and went on top of Ash. She then planted her lips on the surprised boy.

Unexpected. That was the only word he could think of to describe the whole turn of events. For the longest time he had thought that the former Saffron City Gym Leader wanted nothing more than a sibling relationship with him. Now here he was, with the exotic goddess kissing him passionately. He wasn't about to let her win though, even if it wasn't a Pokemon battle he treated every challenge the same, and anticipated victory each time.

Ash separated her lips with his tongue as they began their game of tonsil hockey. His confidence flared when he heard Sabrina moaning from his actions. Her soft porcelain skin brushed against his tanned skin as their arms entangled with eachother. While they continued he took off his gloves and let his hands roam her body freely. His right arm feeling revitalized from the warmth she was giving him.

Sabrina gasped, which was hard considering how busy her mouth was, when she felt Ash's hand massaging the small of her back. She should have expected him to be bold, but not this experienced.

The raven-haired woman whimpered when Ash disengaged his mouth from hers. He lightly blew into her ear before suckling on her left earlobe a bit. His right hand tenderly touched a spot on her neck while his left groped one of her butt cheeks and rotated. Overall, his stimulation was causing her to sweat and elicit some unwomanly sounds.

"Ash, you're...Ah!" He now had Sabrina's slender body on top of his. Her nipples were visibly erect, threatening to pierce the cloth over it.

Sabrina's eyes widened in surprise as she felt one of his hands snaking up her inner thigh. "Wait, Ash-Mhmm!" She was going to protest but had to bite her lip from screaming as he started massaging her right breast, tweaking her nipple with two fingers. It was going too fast, she didn't want to go this far. Maybe later, but not so soon. Now he was going to...

"Game set." Ash whispered in a cocky tone next to the ear he was nibbling on before.

"...What?" Sabrina asked bewildered from the sudden stop put on the petting session.

"Look in the mirror, Princess."

Sabrina went to the bathroom and did so only to look in shock at her neck. It seemed that during their short escapade Ash was able to give her a hickey. The 'mark' that was needed to win her little challenge.

"You...cheated." The raven-haired woman blushed at how she had lost at her own game. He distracted her from her original mission using her own body.

"Don't worry, it'll be my temporary mark to show that I belong to you." The spiky-haired boy explained as he got up to stretch. When he bent down to grab his fallen gloves he was tackled by the psychic mistress. He then felt a small prick on his neck.

"You lose. Mine isn't temporary, it'll become permanent." Sabrina trapped his body between her shapely legs as she wiped something from her mouth with a girlish giggle.

Ash moved his left hand up to feel what she had done. The length and amount of blood drawn from the puncture signified it. Sabrina bit him on his neck, and quite hard it seemed. "I guess that means I'm yours now, right?" He smiled even though the whole event that just occurred in the room was pretty odd.

"More than that, we're connected now." Sabrina chuckled with her hand in front of her mouth before laying on top of Ash again. She then licked the blood coming from her bite and gave him a chaste kiss. "Remember Ash, your life isn't your own anymore. It's mine as well. Don't do anything stupid..."

A double life was one thing, but a relationship that developed from such odd actions was another. He had an exotic woman on top of him, yet all he could think about was what he had gotten himself in to.

Sabrina inwardly smiled as she remembered her previous conversation with Dawn. "She's too young to understand the complexities of human interaction. I'm doing her a favor..." she whispered to herself while she embraced the handsome young man underneath her. He didn't seem to hear.

-

Verdanturf Town: Shiki Open Market – 11 AM

"I wonder how I should approach him...If I immediately go for the kiss he would think I'm too forward, right?" A cerulean-haired girl conversed with no one in particular as she looked at some of the locally grown vegetables.

"Or maybe he'll be the one to initiate the action?!" Dawn squealed with excitement, her intimate dreams of Ash replayed in her mind. "I'm such a pervert." She lightly smacked herself so she wouldn't go into a dazed state again.

"Miss, I'm back with what's left of our produce. It seems we only have three cucumbers left. You said you only needed one, right?" He laid the three vegetables in front of her on the wooden table.

She scrutinized them with an expert eye, "Yeah, I'll take the middle one." The left cucumber was pale while the right cucumber looked rotten. It only seemed right to choose the more mature and tastier looking one.

-

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**Author's Note: **Thank you for enduring my second attempt at fanfiction. For any newcomers who haven't read my other story (Broken Phantasm, which I'm still working on.) I'll bring it to your attention that I'm not that good of a writer. My vocabulary is limited, as is my talent for writing. But hell, I love venting my ideas into these word documents, just so I don't explode from overflow.

So yeah, Dawn has become a pretty interesting character for me. I wanted to tweak her history a bit, or should I say a lot? Actually, I changed everyone's character. So I guess that makes this an Out-Of-Character story, not that my other stpry is doing any better. As for Sabrina, I've always wondered if there has been a story out there linking her to 'Red' or 'Ash' because of how much they helped her. It's too bad I didn't get enough Pokemon action into the chapter as I wanted, but my writing never turns into what I want it to be. So please, be patient with my horrible grammar and overall writing skills. I'm trying to get better (Too lazy to find a Beta).

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Here's some background information if anyone is curious about age, Pokemon, etc. I'll add some nice pictures for people's visualization of Ash/Dawn/Whoever.

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**_Main Character_**

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**Ash Ketchum (Red)**

**Age: **16

**Specialty: **Pokemon Battle Strategy

**Titles:**

-Sinnoh League Champion

-Hoenn League Champion

-The Chosen One

-The Terminal Aura Guardian

-The Prodigy from Pallet Town

-The Brilliant Strategist

**Pokemon On-Hand: **

-Absol (Sora): Rescued during his and Mewtwo's infiltration of Team Rockets Hoenn HQ. At first Absol was hostile, but after being with Ash for two years it has become exceptionally loyal. Takes Pikachu's place as the 'No Pokeball' Pokemon.

-Gardevoir (Lumina): Received as a Ralts from Sabrina shortly after her reunion with Ash saying that it was only fair since he had given her Haunter.

-Deoxys (Anima): Caught with the help of Mewtwo during their infiltration of Team Rockets Sinnoh HQ. Originally owned by Giovanni who released and tagged it as a failed clone to kill on sight after it escaped.

-Dragonite (Chi): Received as a Dratini from Dawn who shyly exclaimed that it was an 'Eternal Companionship' gift. Ash graciously took the Pokemon thinking that she meant it as a gift for his training her in the art of Pokemon Battling.

-Ninetales (Cynn): Received as a Vulpix from Brock who had won it in a 'Gourmet King' contest. Brock stated that he already had one that was being taken care of back home.

-Poliwrath (Castor): Caught at the sea route to Victory Road during his revisit to Hoenn.

**Background: **After his fateful encounter with Giovanni, which resulted in the loss of his best friend, Ash awakened to his full potential in the use of 'Aura'. With it came a series of surprising events and the revelation of his true lineage, along with the purpose of his existence. Three years after the incident Ash realizes that his two separate lives are converging and leading his friends down a dangerous path. His destiny, his fate, it was all determined by birth. He knew that theirs were continually changing, and didn't want to interfere by bringing his enemies into their area of influence. Yet, he couldn't help being selfish. Unbeknownst to himself, he was slowly letting his real personality, the one that had succumbed to reality after Pikachu's death, resurface in the presence of his traveling companions.

-

**_Romantic Interests_**

-

**Sabrina**

**Age: **21

**Specialty: **Psychic-Type Pokemon

**Titles:**

-Saffron City Gym Leader

-Former Rocket Commander

-Master of Psychic Pokemon

-The Wandering Psychic

**Pokemon On-Hand:**

-Mr. Mime

-Alakazam

-Gengar (Satoshi)

-Slowking

-Hitmonlee

-Wigglytuff

**Background:** Seemingly serious and strong willed, Sabrina is actually similar to a little girl on the inside due to a repressed childhood. Because of Ash's actions a couple of years previous Sabrina sees him as the only worthy solution to satisfying her inner persona's erratic feelings. After Ash's promotion to Hoenn League Champion she leaves her Gym and embarks on a pilgrimage that supposedly requires the young boy at her side. Dawn views her as a rival while Brock values her expertise in Pokemon Psychology and Breeding.

-

**Dawn**

**Age: **14

**Specialty: **Pokemon Coordination & Double Battles

**Titles:**

-Ace Coordinator

-The Blue Haired Maiden of Twinleaf Town

**Pokemon On-Hand:**

-Ambipom

-Pachirisu

-Lopunny

-Empoleon

-Lucario

-Altaria

**Background: **In the beginning her relationship with Ash was strained, mostly because of conflicting attitudes and tactics, but since then the two trainers have developed a bond that many would call unbreakable. Though sometimes shy, Dawn is almost always blunt about her feelings towards things and rushes to conclusions without thought. Over the past four years she has significantly developed mentally and physically with the help of Ash, Brock, and Sabrina. Dawn has also gained the reputation of Ace Coordinator because of her many wins in the Hoenn region contests. Her and Ash continually team up for double battles when given the chance.

-

**_Teacher/Partner_**

-

**Mewtwo (Genesis)**

**Age: **Unknown

**Status:**

-The Martyr of Pokemon

-Master of Manipulation

**Background: **Mewtwo, a Pokemon of legendary power and intellect, instructs Ash in the use of Aura after discovering the spiky haired youth's ancestry. He explains to Ash the reason why the Aura Guardians existed, and how they fell. Seeing him as a sort of apprentice, Mewtwo strengthens their link knowing that Ash is the last of the Aura Guardian blood and a pure soul, despite much anguish. He prefers to be called 'Genesis' because of his dislike of the name he received from humans. Mewtwo follows the trio stealthily and appears only when Ash is alone. Together, their main goal is to bring about the fall of Team Rocket and the Kanto Elite Four.

_Questions and answers will be addressed later on. I wasn't planning on giving the plot, or what little is there, all away at once. _

* * *

**Final Note**

*******

As of today (8/22/09), I will be dropping many time consuming hobbies in order to address personal matters that take priority. One of these hobbies is writing fanfiction. Shortly after my last story update, I received a call from home, Gwangju (South Korea), about my adoptive father's passing away. I spent a week mourning with my family there, a group of people who I avoided for six years by taking off to America unannounced. My brother has inherited our family business, and proposed that I join him in running it, believing that my educational background involving macroeconomics and financing will be beneficial to keeping our father's legacy and establishment thriving. I thought about it on my way back to the States, and have concluded that I will try and help him and everyone else. For me, I don't feel deserving of such an opportunity, but I owe my father and caring relatives at least this much for what I've done (or better, lack of). To do this, I will have to sacrifice the lax lifestyle I have led for the past couple of years, dedicate myself to becoming reacquainting with my Korean culture/roots, and find a way to adjust to these alterations. I apologize to the very few readers that stayed patient with my mediocre writing style and ideas, and hope that you understand my decision. However, I will provide "cliff notes" of my incomplete stories, just so you know how I intended to direct their respective tales and endings. Many details will be missing due to the amount of time I have left before I leave. Feel free to take and incorporate any ideas you found interesting or noteworthy from my stories without fear of being accused of "stealing". I simply request the appropriate credit for them in an author's note.

My new life will be starting when I get on the plane, which is set to leave in six hours. To any readers who followed my works, thanks for reading and enjoying them. Wish me luck in my endeavors!


End file.
